For A Moment
by Dlbn
Summary: Kio discovers the relationship between Soubi and Seimei. *Dedication fic written in both celebration and mourning. I love you Moo. Miss you*


Dlbn: Hey, everyone. Back with another birthday fic for Soubi. I know it's a few days late, but I ran out of time to write because I fell asleep and woke up at four am my time, which is midnight in fanfic time.

Nbld: Not to mention having a respiratory infection making us too drained to give a damn about writing.

Dlbn: Too true *coughs*

Nbld: Regardless, we are writing and posting this fic with a heavy heart.

Dlbn: You all know I lost my mother back in July. I posted a whole fic for her. Well on the 23rd, I lost my aunt in a major car accident. This aunt is the one my mother and I lived with my entire life, and even after my mother passed. I've been spending the last few days with my cousins trying to keep it all together and planning a funeral, but this was started weeks ago, so I found it in me to finish the fic.

Nbld: We won't bother you with details or our woes, but this fanfic is written both in celebration and in mourning.

Disclaimer: I do not own Loveless, Soubi, Seimei, Kio, or any other canon characters. That all belongs to Yun Kouga.

Dedication 1: Happy birthday, Soubi.

Dedication 2: Goodbye Moo. You are the last parent I had. I never pictured losing you the way I did, nor losing you so soon after my mother. I know you are both together now in the afterlife watching over me and my son Luke. When I graduate next year, you won't be there in person this time, but I hope my cousins will be. Renee, Nicky, the kids, and I all miss you terribly and are so lost without you. Until we meet again. #RE2PECT that's what it's all about. A true Yankee.

000

Kio sighed as he waited just below the staircase leading to his best friend's apartment. The blonde was normally there way before he was, but knocking on his door led to no answer. Back in the early stages of their friendship Soubi would make a habit of pretending to not be home. Things had progressed since then, and he'd just tell Kio to go home if he didn't feel good. He was certain the fellow artist wasn't home. He unwrapped his fifth Chupa, strawberry and cream flavor, and plopped it in his mouth. That was when he saw him.

Not Sou-chan, no. the boy with him; a raven haired teen who still retained his virgin features. Soubi was out with a friend? Why hadn't he just _said_ so? When they got closer, Kio noted that they were practically holding hands. The ugly feeling of jealousy bubbled up in his stomach. Who was this kid? Soubi's boyfriend? He watched as the teen pulled Soubi down to his level and whispered something. He fixated a glare on Kio before departing.

"Hey, Sou-chan." Kio greeted. "Who was that? I'm not interrupting, am I?"

"Seimei." Soubi said simply. "You shouldn't be here."

"I'm always here after class on Thursdays."

"I won't be home."

"Are you mad at me?"

"Of course not." Soubi started up the stairs.

Kio followed. "Does it have to do with that kid?"

Soubi froze, making Kio pause.

"What, does your boyfriend have a problem with me being around?"

"He's not my boyfriend."

Relief washed over Kio in waves. So Sou-chan was single? Call him selfish, but he sure hoped so.

"Then wat's the issue?"

"You wouldn't understand." He resumed his path to his apartment.

"So help me understand."

Soubi shook his head as he unlocked his apartment.

"I can't, Kio. Just trust me on this. Don't come on Thursdays."

The dumbfounded greenette entered the apartment after its owner. He shut the door as Soubi entered his bathroom. The blonde returned with a first aid kit. Kio watched him remove his long coat. Scars littered his bare arms. One of which was bright red and bleeding.

"Soubi, my god, are you okay?" Kio rushed to his side. "Self-harm? My god."

"I don't despise myself that much, Kio." Soubi answered calmly. "Most of the, are from the car accident."

"What accident? When?"

"Relax, I was eight,"

"Oh. So it was long ago."

"Hai."

"Was anyone hurt?"

"My parents died."

"Oh, God, Sou-chan, I had no idea."

Soubi shrugged and started to clean his wound. "It's in the past, Kio, where it belongs."

"Yes, but…"

"Please drop it."

His shoulders slumped in defeat. "Alright. But this new one?"

"I was helping Seimei cut up boxes for his father. The knife slipped."

"Be more careful. What if you'd hit a vein?"

"I didn't."

"But if."

"Did you bring your oil paints?"

"Yes. Don't change the subject."

"Don't worry about me."

He groaned in frustration.

"Don't worry about me, don't come over on Thursdays. You're full of don'ts today."

Soubi chuckled. "I suppose Seimei has that effect on me."

"Hm…Seimei."

000

It became routine. So routine, it was sickening, almost. Soubi would get home around four. Kio would come over around four fifteen to avoid running into Seimei. Soubi would patch his wounds and tell Kio not to worry, they'd paint or do homework until Kio left around seven or either after dinner. By the third week. Kio stopped asking about the injuries on the fourth week, he helped Soubi tend to a bruise on his back. The scars that marred the pale expanse of flesh would haunt him the rest of his days.

"Sou-chan, what the hell?" He screeched. "Your back…it's like a city map!"

Soubi sighed. "Childhood scars." He responded.

"Did you throw yourself onto the basket of a deep fryer?"

God, he was going to be sick.

"My parents passed. I was raised by an abusive man, alright? The injury?"

"It's just a bruise. Looks like someone punched you hard."

"That's not too far off." Soubi pulled his shirt back down.

"…Was it Seimei?"

"…no."

"You hesitated."

Just like every other time the teen's name was mentioned. His name was like a punch to the gut. Repeatedly. Kio hated saying his name, but it had to be said. It burned his tongue and scorched his throat.

"Don't."

"I know I know. Don't worry about it." Kio sighed. "Sou-chan, I have to worry."

"Why"

"Because you don't!"

"So?"

"Every time you're with him, you come home injured somehow. Don't you realize how odd that is? It's not healthy."

"I'm clumsy."

"Bullshit. I know you're not. Sou-chan. You're careful and calculating. Your art shows it. Your art is a peek into yourself, your soul."

"A man is not his art."

"So you say, but I know that's a lie."

"If you say so."

Kio groaned. "Whatever, Sou-chan."

"Hai."

Whatever was happening to his best friend, Kio was certain Seimei was behind it.

000

And that was how he ended up following them the following Thursday, the pair had met up with two other people he didn't recognize and headed for the local par.

"Is everything in place?" Seimei asked.

The pink haired woman nodded. "Yeah, it's taken care of." She confirmed.

"Good, that's what I wanted to hear." Seimei nodded. "I didn't want to have to handle that."

The boy other unknown boy huffed. "Handle it? Everyone knows you won't do a damn thing." He scoffed. "Your Fighter does all your dirty work for you."

Seimei smirked in a way that made Kio uncomfortable. He saw Soubi fidget a little and realized it was bothering the blonde, too. Just what did he mean by 'handle that'? And why was it affecting Soubi in such a way?

"Of course." Seimei stated. "What good is a tool that can't be used?"

"I'm not sure I'd call him a tool or a fool." The boy rolled his eyes.

"Kaita, that's more than enough." The girl snapped at her companion.

"Hai, Maiko, Gomennasai." He bowed and backed up.

"Our compensation?" She held out her hand to Seimei.

"Ah, you see, it appears there has been a little problem with obtaining your compensation."

"What?" She snapped. "Are you kidding me? What little problem?"

"I don't have it, nor do I particularly want to give it to you."

The girl gaped. Her companion seemed to wake back up at that.

"You can't be serious, Aoyagi! We did what you asked!" He complained.

"Oh, I'm dead serious." Seimei stated. "I'm rather grateful for what you've done for me, don't get me wrong." He snapped his fingers. "End them."

The boy pulled the girl behind him and sneered at Seimei, practically baring his teeth like an enraged animal. The air crackled with some kind of static feeling, making it a bit harder for Kio to breathe than before. He wrapped one hand around his own throat, the other clutching at his shirt where his heart was. He couldn't hear what the others were saying, but he saw the two he didn't know collapse on the ground. When his hearing came back in full swing, he opened his eyes to find Soubi and Seimei missing. He hoped he hadn't been found. Just what the hell was that?

000

Kio cornered Soubi at school the next day, determined to get answers from his friend. Soubi appeared annoyed as Kio practically pinned him to a wall in an empty hallway after their ten AM theory class. Kio was practically seeing red, but he'd hold back his temper and lower his voice for his friend.

"What do you want, Kio?" Soubi asked.

"I followed you yesterday." Kio admitted.

He saw Soubi go pale for a moment, his eyes widening only slightly in shock, before he schooled his features and fixated Kio with a small smile.

"You did?" He wondered. "Even though I tell you time and time again not to worry about me, you do."

"Cut the bull, Soubi." Kio ordered. "What the hell was any of that?"

"Any of what?"

"You know what!" Kio threw his hands in the air. "And as usual, you came home injured."

"Don't worry about it." Soubi pushed Kio away from him lightly before walking towards his next class.

"You deserve better than this, Sou-chan, whether you know it or not."

The blonde paused, smiling while his friend couldn't see. He looked back over his shoulder.

"Someone like you could never understand, Kio." He informed. "This is just the way it has to be."

Kio watched, dumbfounded, as Soubi left him alone in the middle of the hallway like a fool.

000

Since talking to Soubi clearly wasn't going to get him anywhere, Kio waited outside Soubi's apartment after class to see if Seimei himself would stop by again. Sure enough, when the clock struck three, the boy rounded the corner. He paused for a moment when he saw Kio, plastering a false smile on his face.

"Gomennasai, but I don't think we've met." The boy's voice was sweet like sugar. "Aoyagi Seimei." He bowed.

"Kio." Kio stated. "And before you ask, just Kio."

"Oh, I'm aware. Soubi told me who you are."

"Good." Kio huffed. "Because we need to talk."

"Certainly." Seimei gestured down the road with his left hand.

Despite the hairs raising at the back of the greenette's neck, he followed the teen down the road, hands jammed into his pockets. He couldn't tell if the boy was being sincere or putting on an act for him. He seemed rude and overbearing before.

"What do you wish to talk to me about?"

"I don't know what the hell you and Soubi are or what the hell you two do, but it needs to stop."

"What do you mean?" Seimei cocked an eyebrow, ears twitching.

"Every time he's with you, he comes home with a fresh injury. He's being put in danger." Kio looked Seimei over. "I doubt you have even a scratch on you."

"That's personal." Seimei complained.

"I'm not asking for information regarding that." Kio shook his head. "All I know is Soubi's getting hurt and he doesn't care, and it only happens when _you're_ around."

"What are you trying to say?" Seimei's tone grew dark.

"You think I'm too stupid to figure out that something isn't right?" Kio scoffed. "I'm not a fool, Aoyagi, and you'd do well to remember that."

"What do you want?"

"What do I want? I _want_ Sou-chan to stop coming home with injuries. I _want_ him to stop covering for you. I _want_ you to back down."

Seimei rolled his eyes. "You don't know what you're talking about." He stated. "I have nothing to do with any of the injuries Soubi has sustained."

"Sure you don't." Kio glared. "You can't play the fool with me."

Seimei scowled, marring his near perfect features.

"You should mind your business when it comes to things that don't concern you."

"He's my best friend. He concerns me."

Seimei huffed. "If he's not worried, you shouldn't be."

"I don't think he knows better."

"Hm, perhaps not." Seimei plastered on that annoying fake smile again. "But I assure you, anything happening to Soubi has nothing to do with me. Whether you think so or not, that is the truth" Seimei pat him on his shoulder, seeming disgusted by the action. "I need to get back. He's expecting me, and I don't like to be late."

Kio glared after the retreating teen as he went back to Soubi's apartment. There was something off about that brat, and he was determined to find out what. He wasn't good for Soubi.

000

Soubi wasn't there the following Thursday when Kio went to his apartment after he should have gotten back from being with Seimei. He wasn't in any of the classes he and Kio shared for that entire week, and the few people Kio had asked hadn't seen him at all. If he was sick or going out of town, he would have told his friend. But he hadn't said anything. Was this Seimei's doing? Kio had half a mind to report him missing, but what would he say? His friend was in an abusive relationship with a teenager and he was concerned that he had gone missing? They'd toss Soubi away for being a pervert and lock Kio up for being insane. He sighed and slid down the front door to come to a seat on the porch just outside Soubi's apartment. His mouth craved the feeling of a fresh Chupa rolling over his tongue, but the idea of putting any kind of food into his mouth was making him physically ill. If something happened to Soubi because he said something to Seimei, he'd never forgive himself.

"Can't you take a hint?" A voice wondered. "I wish to be left alone, Kio."

His head shot up to see Soubi standing there, one hand gripping the strap to a duffle bag.

"Sou-chan, you're alright!" Kio scrambled to his feet. "I didn't make Seimei too mad did I? I was worried about you…"

"I was out of town."

Kio couldn't help but notice how he avoided the question concerning Seimei. He followed his friend into the apartment, only to have the door slammed shut in his face.

"Alright, Sou-chan, I get it. You're mad at me for stepping in. But someone had to say something. God knows you won't."

"God's not here."

Kio rolled his eyes. "Can I please come in and talk with you?"

"No, go away."

"Please?"

"Seimei doesn't want you here."

"Excuse me?" Kio felt his face heat up. "Seimei doesn't live here."

"Go away, Kio."

Kio pushed open the door, thankful that Soubi's actions betrayed his words. The blonde looked absolutely pitiful sitting cross legged on the floor in front of a blank canvas. There was a tray for paint next to him, but he had yet to fill it. Kio shut the front door and locked it behind him so no one else, like Seimei, for example, could come in and disturb them. He sat with his friend and pulled out his tray of oil paints. He offered them to the fellow artist, only to be gently brushed away by his left hand. He couldn't help but notice discoloration just above his knuckles.

"What happened?" He wondered.

"Don't worry about it."

"Not this again."

"Please, Kio, for both our sakes, stop asking questions."

"For your sake, I can't." Kio shook his head. "You may not be concerned, but I am. You look like hell."

He shrugged. "That's what happens when you go to Gora. Hell on earth." He picked up a green bottle of paint and poured some onto his tray. "I couldn't expect you to ever understand, Kio, so stop asking things."

"You can't expect me to understand if you don't give me a chance. You leave me with more questions and less answers. Please, I just want what's best for you, Soubi."

"Why?"

"Why?"

"Why do you care?"

Kio's face flushed. "Y-You're my friend, okay? And I don't like you being hurt all the time…"

Soubi cocked an eyebrow. "Friends or not, don't worry about me. This is the way it has to be."

"No it isn't!" Kio practically flung himself over the canvas to place his hands on his friend's shoulders. "Sou-chan, this isn't love, this isn't a relationship. This is abuse."

"Seimei and I don't love one another."

"As if that wasn't obvious! You don't hurt who you love…"

"And we're not in a relationship."

"I'd hope not…"

"Kio, there are just some things you're not meant to understand, alright? Please, get that through your head, and stop trying to interfere."

"What happened in the woods last week?"

Soubi froze, looking up at his friend from under his bangs. "What did you say?"

"I said, 'what happened in the woods last week'."

"You…saw that…?"

"Yes, I did. Now explain."

Soubi shook his head. "Can't."

"Because Seimei said so?"

"It's the rules."

"Seimei's rules."

"No."

"Then whose?"

"Just the rules. Stop prying, Kio, before I have to do something we're both going to regret."

Kio stared at his friend, unbelieving. Whose rules were they? What happened? Why did Soubi seem so frightened all of a sudden? Something they're both going to regret? That he _had_ to do? None of this made any sense.

"Sou-chan, _please_ , just help me understand…"

"There's nothing to understand. Pretend you didn't see anything."

"But Soubi!"

"No buts." He squirted paint onto his plate and picked up a brush to signal the end of the conversation.

Kio sighed and watched his friend work. When he was finished, angry splotches of red mashed with cool swirls of blue to produce something truly out of this world. Just what was going on in his head?

000

A couple weeks went by before a change in routine broke through. It was a Wednesday night when someone knocking on the front door to Kio's apartment roused him from a brief nap on the couch. He'd fallen asleep watching some cheesy romance movie on Lifetime. The clock read 6:17 in bright green letters, though it felt later and looked it from the darkness outside. When the pounding continued, louder this time, he cursed and pushed himself off the sofa. If his guest knocked too loud, the neighbors would hear and complain. Kio sighed and unlocked the front door.

"This had better be…good…?" He wondered, trailing as he opened the door.

On the other side stood Soubi, holding his left arm with his right. His left arm had blood trailing down its matching hand. His head was hung low so Kio couldn't read his face. He shivered under the cool autumn air.

"What the hell happened?" Kio wondered. "Wait, I know, don't ask."

"Please, Kio." Soubi coughed. "Can I come in?"

"Sure." He stepped aside to let the injured blonde enter his dwelling.

Kio uttered apologies to elderly neighbors who had poked their heads out their doors in response to the interruption from Soubi. He shut the door and turned to see Soubi sitting on the floor behind his couch, leaning on it and piled into what Kio could only call a 'heap'. His breathing was shallow, making Kio concerned that something other than the usual injury from Seimei had happened.

"I'll get the first aid." He stated without being asked.

Soubi grabbed him by the pant leg. "I'll be fine." He wheezed. "Just don't…don't leave me alone…"

"I'll only be a minute, Sou-chan. You're bleeding and you look like death warmed over." Kio gently pulled his pants away. "Let me help you."

He returned to find Soubi still crumbled into that heap from before and sighed as he sat down. He opened the kit and made Soubi take his coat off so he could better inspect the injury. When he couldn't see it, he gently pulled up on the hem of the blonde's shirt. Soubi let him remove it with only a bit of a yelp in protest of the motion. Kio bit back a gasp and chewed on his lower lip. Soubi's back might have been marred from his childhood, but it was nothing compared to the long gash down right next to his shoulder blade. It was bleeding profusely though it didn't look too deep.

"What happened to you…?" Kio wondered softly, afraid of scaring off the blonde.

"Nothing…"

"Don't give me that bullshit."

"I'm fine." Soubi coughed and rubbed at his chest.

There were no visible injuries, but it didn't mean that there weren't any.

"Are you sick? Is that why you're coughing?"

"Stomach…punched…" Soubi groaned, slumping down further.

Kio helped him sit up. "Sou-chan, I know you're not going to like this, but this has to stop. Seriously, he's going to kill you one day…"

"Won't kill…needs me…" He coughed again.

"Needs you." Kio scoffed. "Bullshit, Soubi. He's going to kill you."

"Won't…don't understand…bond…" Soubi appeared to be losing consciousness slowly.

His cobalt eyes closed behind his glasses as his head flopped onto Kio's shoulder. His face looked uninjured, which wasn't surprising. Why would Seimei hurt a part of him that could be seen easily by others? Not like Soubi would report him for anything he did, but Kio had half a mind to do so. For Soubi's sake, and out of fear of Seimei's reaction, he wouldn't.

"Bond?" Kio laughed. "Soubi, don't delude yourself." Kio brushed hair from his face. "Whatever he has you believing, it's not true."

"The only truth…" Soubi coughed. "Just a tool to be used…my…" A cough. "My master…"

"Master…?"

Soubi slumped completely onto Kio, using his friend's shoulder for support. His breathing slowed to a rhythm that matched sleep and Kio sighed. He ran a hand through his own green hair. Bond? Master? Tool? What in the world was that demon brat feeding the artist? Surely Soubi was smarter than that. But his childhood injuries…it seemed the only form of love he knew was pain. Maybe he thought this was normal?

Kio slowly and gently cleaned Soubi's injured back and bandaged him up with a thick roll of gauze. He spotted a bruise on Soubi's lower left ribs and gently rubbed against it. Soubi's back arched and his head flew back as he let out a gasp in his sleep. Well, looked like Kio found the source of his wheezing. Hopefully nothing had been punctured. The greenette gently slid himself out from under Soubi and supported the blonde with his own hands. He did what he could to support him while he stood, bent at the waist to reach his friend still. He picked him up, both surprised at how much Soubi really weighed and astonished that it wasn't more. He carried the blonde to his couch and deposited him there, covering his shivering body with a thick afghan. Soubi's bangs fell to cover his eyes as Kio removed his glasses and set them on the coffee table. He sighed and stared at his unconscious friend, hands on his hips. Whatever Seimei had done, he'd finally gone too far. And Kio would never forgive himself if the cause had been that he'd gotten too involved.

000

Soubi woke an hour later, slightly confused as to where he was. He spotted a canvas with a finished piece on it that he recognized and let out a groan. Kio. Of course he'd gone to Kio. Just like he always did when Seimei hurt him. he reached up to grind his palms against his eyes and gasped at the twinge of pain in his back. What…? Oh, right. He turned his head instead to spot Kio on a chair across form him, reading a book and sipping from a cup of hot tea. The greenette stopped at the sound of his groan and smiled gently at him.

"Good morning, Sleeping Beauty." He greeted. "Enjoy your nap?"

"What time is it?" Soubi groaned, forcing himself to sit.

"Seven thirty." Kio responded. "Care to tell me what the hell is going on?"

"Nothing…I…"

"Stop lying to me, Agatsuma Soubi." Kio snapped. "You came here bleeding profusely with a bruise on your ribs, and then pass out on my couch after uttering nonsense, and you expect me to believe that nothing is going on?" He closed his book and slid it onto the coffee table next to his tea. "Look, if you're into this kind of thing, then just say so."

"This kind of thing?"

"Bondage, masochism, whatever this is."

"Nothing of the sort, Kio." Soubi blushed at the mention of sex.

"Then what the hell is it?" Kio glared.

"I told you. You wouldn't understand."

"Help me understand. I've been patching you up for weeks now, and this is the worst it's gotten. Did you tell Seimei I saw whatever it was in the woods? Or is he finally just the right amount of pissed off that I confronted him?"

"Neither, Kio, I…"

"Don't say it's not Seimei, because you and I both know that's a load of crap!" Kio was on his feet now. "I swear, Sou-chan, it's like you don't care if you die."

"I don't."

What?" Kio felt his heart sink.

"I don't care, Kio." Soubi smiled a little. "I've resigned to my fate."

"And just what fate is that?"

"You wouldn't…"

"I swear, if you tell me one more time that I won't understand, I'm going to sock you one."

"You won't."

"I won't?"

"You're a pacifist, Kio. You're not Seimei. You'd never…" He seemed to realize his mistake and trailed off.

"So it _is_ Seimei's fault, then. I'm not surprised. The guy's a creep, Soubi, why the hell are you friends with him?"

"Not friends."

"Then what the hell are you?"

"Master and servant."

Well that was pretty straight forward.

"What do you mean…?" Kio treaded lightly, afraid that the wrong question or one wrong choice of word would set off the blonde and make him shut down into silence again.

"It's as I said. Seimei is my master, I his servant."

"I don't understand."

Soubi chuckled. "I warned you of this."

Kio glared. "Now's not the time for 'I told you so's."

"I can't go into detail, Kio. Just trust me, this is my lot in life; my role to play. I've just gotten used to and accepted it. I am nothing more than a tool to be used as my master sees fit."

"You're not just a tool, Soubi. You're a living, breathing person with dreams and skills and ambitions. You're not just a tool; not in any aspect of the word."

"I am a Fighter, Kio. A tool to be used. That is just how it is, how it has to be."

"Why? Who decides it has to be that way?"

"That's what I'd like to know, too. However, such a choice is not under my discretion. I doubt even Ritsu knows."

"Who?"

"Don't ask."

Okay, so that guy was a touchier subject than Seimei was. Was he the guy that had brutalized Soubi in his childhood?

"Aright…can't you just quit?"

Soubi glared. "I promised my life to my Sacrifice. Without a Sacrifice, I am nothing."

"You're not making any sense."

"A Sacrifice controls and orders, a Fighter listens and obeys."

"So that thing in the woods was just you following his orders?"

"Correct."

"I really don't get it, Soubi-chan." Kio collapsed on the couch. "Why? Why are you okay with being hurt this way? You deserve so much better. Why not find a Sacrifice that will treat you right, that won't hurt you?"

"You don't get to pick. It's predestined. As a blank without a name, I am given to whoever needs me."

"A name?"

"I've said too much."

Kio nodded slowly. "Well…I patched up your injuries…mind telling me what happened?"

"I disobeyed and order and was punished." Soubi rubbed at his shoulder. "The ribs are something else entirely."

"Like what?"

"The other guy."

"I see…"

Silence fell over the two of them again.

"Soubi?"

"Hai?"

"Are you going to be alright?"

"In time, Kio, in time." Soubi promised, smiling gently. "Just please, trust me. This is how it has to be, and I have no control over it. Please stop asking questions. I can't give you the answers you seek."

Kio nodded. "Alright…but I swear to god, if Seimei lays a finger on you like this again…"

"Knife."

"What?"

"A knife. Seimei doesn't like using his hands directly. Germaphobe."

"Maybe I should go cough on him and he'll leave you alone."

Soubi chuckled a little, looking down at his lap. "Kio, why do you care so much for me? What have I done to warrant such concern?"

"You're my friend." Kio flushed. "Friends are concerned when their friends get attacked by some psychotic teenager with a knife and a grin that could cut through solid steel.

"There's more you're not telling me."

"Of course not." Kio huffed. "I just don't like seeing you hurt."

"Perhaps you should be more truthful with yourself, Kio. You'll find it can take you a long way."

"The same could be said for you."

Soubi hummed but didn't say anything. Kio got up from his spot to sit at his side and lean his head on his right, uninjured shoulder.

"Sou-chan, please be careful. I don't know what I'd do without you."

"You'd stop worrying yourself to death."

Kio laughed, a breathless, airless sound. "I'd stop worrying myself to death fi you'd just be honest with yourself. This isn't normal."

"I know."

"Then why won't you try to escape it?"

"Because, to me, this _is_ normal." Soubi stated. "Since I was young. Pain is proof you're alive. Without pain, I'm nothing…"

"Pain…" Kio chuckled. "I suppose that's why I continuously torture myself with something I want but can never have."

"Such as what, Kio?" Soubi wondered.

"You."

Now it was Soubi's turn to flush, his skin heating up under Kio's touch. "Why would you ever want me, Kio? I'm scarred…"

"Scarred and beautiful." Kio whispered against the expanse of his friend's neck. "Sou-chan…Soubi…I…"

"I know, Kio." Soubi stated. "I have for a while…"

"Ass." Kio shoved his good shoulder. "Making me feel like a damn fool."

"You _are_ a damn fool, Kio."

He glared, but pressed a gently kiss to the underside of the blonde's chin anyway.

"Kio…?"

"Soubi?"

"…Kiss me…?"

Kio sat up straight and cupped Soubi's face in his hands. "I thought you'd never ask." He pulled his friend in for a kiss on the lips.

Soubi moaned a little as his lips parted for his friend's invading tongue. Kio groaned and threaded his fingers through Soubi's flaxen hair. Hands on Kio's hips pulled him over the blonde as he lay back. Kio broke the kiss, placing a peck on his temple.

"I don't know how you feel about me, Sou-chan…but…" He bit his lower lip. "I sort of…love…"

"I know." Soubi stared back up at him. "You mean it, Kio?"

"Why wouldn't I?" Kio nuzzled his neck. "I'd never hurt you, Soubi. Please…give me a chance…?"

"Kio…"

"It doesn't have to be now." Kio blurted. "Just…one day…be mine…" He kissed a light trail down Soubi's neck, latching on gently to his collarbone.

Soubi moaned, arching up against him. "K-Kio!"

Kio sighed and nuzzled onto Soubi's chest. Wrapped up in the blonde's strong arms, he slowly drifted off to sleep.

000

It wasn't until the morning when Kio would awaken to find Soubi gone that the embarrassment had sunk into his chest. The greenette groaned, surprised to notice that he was laying in his bed under the covers. He didn't remember moving here. Had Soubi…? The artist smiled and snuggled up under the covers to sleep again. Soubi might not ever be his, but at least, for a moment, he had been.


End file.
